Car Seat Cleaning

Can keeping your car seat clean help with safety?

How often do you clean your car seat? As a mom of two young kids, I get it. Car seats get dirty – fast. But schedules are often busy with school, sports, activities, family time, etc. Who has time to clean their car seat?

For my birthday this year, my husband arranged for my car to be detailed – I am a bit embarrassed to admit what it looked like underneath my toddler’s car seat. But, did you know that if you leave food debris in your car seat, even if it is in your car in your garage, small critters may be able to find it?

Tips for Cleaning Your Car Seat


So, let’s talk about keeping things clean. I’m not suggesting you take your car seat out of the vehicle and fully wash your seat pad every day. That is not feasible in the real world of parenting. However, these tips can guide you in some routine car seat cleaning:

DAILY CLEANING

It is a good idea to inspect your harness system every day as you strap your child into the car seat. Rub your fingers along the harness webbing as you loosen it and place it around your child. Visually inspect the harness for signs of damage or wear. Make sure you fully extend the harness so you can see the portions that may be underneath the car seat.

When you see bits of cereal, crackers, etc. sitting in the car seat, it is a good idea to scoop those out every day. You don’t need to pull out the vacuum daily, but it isn’t difficult to remove inserts and additional padding (seat pad, head pillow, body pillow, harness covers, etc.) and shake them out.

OCCASIONAL CLEANING

Periodically, it is good practice to take the car seat out of your vehicle and fully remove the seat pad for cleaning. At Evenflo, we allow machine washing of seat pads – so throw all of those fabric components in the wash on gentle cycle and then pop them in the dryer for 10 – 15 minutes on low heat.


While the cover and soft goods are washing, do an inspection of the car seat shell, padding and harness system. Shake out those crumbs! Now is a good time to grab the hand vacuum, put on one of those attachments for reaching small places and try to get out the hidden crumbs. Inspect the harness system again looking for wear or other damage – like fraying along the edges or cuts into the webbing. If you see damage, take pictures and give us a call. Our customer service team can help you with next steps.

 

Tips for Storing Your Car Seat

If you plan to store your car seat for a period of time, it is especially important that you give the car seat a thorough cleaning prior to storage. Get out as many of those crumbs as possible and wash and completely dry the soft goods before placing in storage.

Additionally, if you plan to use a car seat that has been in storage, it is also a good idea to give it a thorough inspection before installing it in your car. Make sure you check under the seat pad and all around the harness system. Buckle and unbuckle the harness. Loosen and tighten the harness webbing. Check to make sure all components are working and no damage is visible.

EXAMPLES OF CAR SEAT DAMAGE

In closing, a few 'pro tips' if you should suspect damage from unwanted 'friends' who might have snacked on your car seat:

- Inspect your seat's harness in the child seating area and underneath the seat at least a few times a year, pay special attention in cold weather months or early spring.

- If the harness is showing some minor fraying, it is a good idea to take a picture and continue to monitor. If the fraying worsens, contact ParentLink Consumer Care.

- If you find serious damage to harness straps. Discontinue use and contact us immediately for assistance.

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